Personal Bests

A Look Back.

I had been looking forward to this weekend for months! Friday morning I was off to the airport to pick up my best friend, in town visiting from Cincinnati. Unfortunately, Thursday night I had started showing symptoms of mastitis, and by Friday it was really kicking into gear. So there are no pictures from the first half of our weekend, because it involved about 16 hours of what felt like the worst flu I’d ever had.

Luckily, by Saturday afternoon I was feeling better and ready to casually enjoy some sunshine (nothing too strenuous!). My midwives had instructed me to treat myself as if I had the flu, and adjust our plans accordingly. I thought vegan donuts sounded pretty relaxing.

Followed by a lovely girls outing for pedicures. Mine was long overdue – hadn’t had one since last summer (scary!). Casey watched Cullen while Lindsey and I relaxed at the salon, and it was exactly what I needed. I felt so rested and pampered afterwards!

We ate a lot of fabulous food from places like Chaco Canyon, Revel, and Anita’s Crepes, but I decided to just enjoy it rather than lug along my camera. I assure you it was all delicious.

On Easter morning, I woke up feeling almost like my old self again. Even though we didn’t make much of a big deal of it, it was still fun to celebrate Cullen’s first Easter!

He will have to wait until next year to hunt for eggs and dig through a basket. Bunny ears were exciting enough for him this year. :)

We went to Greenlake and walked a bit while Casey ran, and then we parked it on a blanket in the sun while Casey continued to loop, loop, loop (seven loops total, and 21+ miles!). We provided cheers and Gatorade, and Cullen enjoyed rolling around in the sunshine.

It was a perfect Seattle weekend, with highs in the 70’s, mountains everywhere you looked, and sunny skies all weekend long.

It is always nice to have great weather, but it’s even better when you have great friends in town to share it with!

After Casey’s long run (I skipped mine because of the mastitis), we headed home for a bit and then out and about in Fremont. We strolled through the farmers market…

Where Casey picked up this delicious vegan Indian plate for lunch. YUM! Well deserved after a crazy-long run.

We all sat and talked and watched the boats sail by on the canal.

Baby in the sunshine.

I love getting him outside as much as I possibly can. I hope he learns to love it as much as I do.

Family Easter photo!

Our Easter dinner was probably not considered traditional holiday food, but it was tasty and that’s all that really mattered.

Sushi rice with blackened tofu, roasted sweet potatoes, charred broccoli, and crimini mushrooms. All with a dash of soy sauce!

Adverse effects? Of eating Tofu? I’m sorry. The girl doesn’t drink alcohol, eats an incredibly healthy diet, runs…and you think that eating Tofu is going to adversely effect her? My dad is an oncologist who also happened to do cancer research during much of his career. He won’t let me go through the x-ray machines at the airport, but tofu he has no problem with. Coming from someone who spent over 40 years curing cancer and studying disease process, he doesn’t mind if I eat tofu a couple times a week. It is certainly better than red meat and most of the crap that Americans eat.

Tofu was one of my son’s favorite foods when he was a baby! His first protein (besides my milk, of course). I used to cut it into little cubes.
Too much soy is really only a problem if you have a thyroid condition. I’m not sure if it’s the medicine used to treat it, or the condition itself, but too much soy (tofu, soy milk) can throw it off. For anyone else, it’s a great source of protein. Here’s a link to a tofu dish my kids ask for: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tofu-steaks-shiitakes-veggies-50400000117844/

I don’t think Jane was being judgmental, just curious. There are a lot of conflicting reports out there about soy. Some studies specifically address adverse effects of soy during pregnancy – no harm in asking Emily if she’s noticed any herself! I personally like tofu and am not worried about eating it, but I wouldn’t mind if someone asked me about it one way or the other…

Jane, I’ve been eating tofu for years and have had no adverse affects. I had a very healthy pregnancy, and a very healthy baby who is excelling through all his milestones and age expectations. People are eating a lot worse things than tofu.

So sorry to hear you were dealing with mastis – my friend went through that too and said it was just miserable. Glad to see you were able to make the best of things though and have a wonderful Easter anyway!!

I am sorry to hear about your mastitis and am glad you were able to recover a bit while your friend was still in town. The weather looked wonderful and Cullen- too cute in those bunny ears! Hope you are back to your old self!!

They actually have easter eggs now that talk to little kids. You hide them and they say “over here” and “come find me” so it helps kids learn where to look when they are just learning how to hunt for easter eggs. They are pretty cool.

I didn’t know we could get mastitis past the first few weeks of breastfeeding! I’ll be on the look out!

I have itchy red spots below my (tmi!) nipple on my left breast, do you know what it could be? It itches like crazy! Lotion helps a bit, but it keeps coming back. Do you think it could be eczema? My next doctor appointment is not for another 3 months.

I know thrush can cause itchiness, but I am clearly not a doctor. I would ask your OB or dermatologist to take a look, just to be safe! I know pregnancy/hormones can cause a lot of skin changes, so it could be something as simple as eczema.

That donut and coffee looks divine! I’m jealous as I sit here and browse your post ugh. Cullen is adorable in those bunny ears, next year will be so fun when he can pick up those eggs. Food looks fab as always. Good to hear your feeling better the flu is not fun!

Ouch with the mastitis! I suffered from it many times, and found out my sport bra wasn’t helping. Because it pressed my chest so tightly, plus I was sweating in it so much…Can’t do much about the pressing, that’s just the bra doing its job, but changing it IMMEDIATELY after running cut down on the number of incidents. I hope you feel better soon!

After I got mastitis, I said I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I can’t remember feeling so sick. The best thing is to catch is early and try to figure out why you got it. When I did, it was because I’d changed my pumping schedule. Do you have any idea why? The lactation consultant I saw encouraged me to be sure both breasts got fully emptied so there wasn’t’ any leftover milk.
The nice thing is that it goes away as quickly as it comes on, and you’ll catch it even sooner if it happens again. Glad to hear you’re feeling better (and you need to push dad to take baby so YOU can go on a long run, mama!)

I had changed my pumping schedule too, and I think that was it. I’ll definitely watch for it again! Casey actually has been watching Cullen so I can run – I just skipped this week because of the mastitis. :)

Ahhh! Love Cullen’s bunny ears. So freakin’ cute. Holidays are what you make of them. It doesn’t mean eating traditional food or outings. I’m glad your little family and friend enjoyed your time together. Don’t you just love having guests so you can play tourist?

Sorry to hear about the mastitis! Luckily I never had it in the 15 months I nursed my daughter, but if it feels like the flu I wouldn’t wish it on any one! Glad you got to enjoy a little of the weekend!

I have a dumb question I suppose, but can you explain to a childless person why you’d want the baby to drink mastitis milk? I am a vet student, so I know a lot about mastitis in farm animals, lol, but – Not so much in people, however. I fully understand why you want to move that milk out, and often, but why on earth would you want the baby to ingest the bacteria and somatic cells is baffling to me. Unless it just helps prime their immune system…

I’ve been known to run laps and laps and laps around Green Lake when I’m training for a marathon! But people watching is just so entertaining! I do feel like I should where a sign that says I’m in marathon training mode or something.

Thanks Katy! I actually hate those buns. :) But Cullen pulls my hair when it’s down, and I don’t usually have time to do fancy styling, so a silly wet bun it is. I’m hoping to get my hair cut this weekend so that it’s easier to take care of (and harder to grab!).

[...] weekend! This was the first time we really celebrated Easter now that we’re parents. Cullen’s first Easter was super low key and we didn’t really do much other than make him pose with bunny ears on. [...]